Three
by Ember1314
Summary: For moons, the clans have been plagued with an inability to have new kits. StarClan has not been speaking to them, and they are all growing desperate. Things appear to be looking up for RiverClan when they find three abandoned kits, but at the same time they are given a prophecy that promises darkness before there will be light.
1. Prologue

**This is my first story, so I'd like as much feedback as I can get.**

**Obviously I am not Erin Hunter, so I in no way own Warriors.**

**RiverClan:**

Leader: Emberstar- Black she-cat with orange flecks

Apprentice: Blackpaw- Black tom with green eyes

Deputy: Stormfall- Massive grey tabby she-cat

Med. Cat: Sunpelt- Bright golden tom

Apprentice: Whitepaw- Sleek white she-cat with green eyes

Warriors: Duskfeather- Tortoiseshell she-cat

Mossynose- Pale brown tom with darker flecks on face

Mistheart- Small silver she-cat

Rockpelt- Grey tabby tom

Mirrorclaw- Pretty blue she-cat

Apprentice: Greypaw- Pale grey tom

Brownfur- Brown tabby tom

Frogfur- Brown tabby she-cat with pure black stripes on her tail

Queens:

Kits:

Elders: Stoneclaw- Dark grey tabby tom

**ThunderClan:**

Leader: Talonstar- Big red tom

Deputy: Darkheart- Jet black she-cat with green eyes

Med. Cat: Volewhisker- Dusky brown she cat

Warriors: Flamefur- Ginger tom

Liontail- Pale yellow tom with darker brown tail

Apprentice: Honeypaw- Yellow she-cat

Sandstep- Light tortoiseshell she-cat

Waterfoot- Light grey tabby tom

Queens:

Kits:

Elders: Ferntouch- Dark brown tabby she-cat

**ShadowClan:**

Leader: Moonstar- Slightly off-white tom

Deputy: Leafpelt- Beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat

Med. Cat: Duststorm- Dusty brown she cat with unruly fur

Warriors: Bramblefoot- Dark grey tabby tom with very black stripes

Tawnyfur- Light brown she-cat

Apprentice: Heartpaw- Black she-cat with a heart-shaped white mark on chest

Tinyclaw- Very small white she-cat with black paws

Tigerfang- Large brown tom with unusually long canine teeth

Queens:

Kits:

Elders: Whispersong- Frail-looking old white she-cat

**WindClan:**

Leader: Birdstar- Silver tabby she-cat

Deputy: Leopardwind- Golden tom with black flecks

Med. Cat: Cricketfire- Bright red-orange tom

Warriors: Firesong- Tortoiseshell she-cat with an orange chest

Dewpelt- Light blue she-cat

Mousefoot- Brown tom with darker streaks

Dawnfeather- Fluffy yellow she-cat with white chest and paws

Foxfang- Ginger tom with white chest and tail tip

Queens:

Kits:

Elders: Treepelt- A brown she-cat with fur that looks like bark

"Sunpelt," a voice whispered. "Sunpelt." The golden tom stirred, waking to the cold of early leaf-bare. Looking around for who was calling to him, he finally laid eyes on the friendly, starry she-cat.

"Dawnfall," he purred, happy to see his long-dead former mentor. After going to StarClan she had been restored to a much younger version of herself, an image even a cat as old as Sunpelt couldn't remember.

The old tom hadn't been visited by any of his ancestors for many seasons, even on trips to the Moonpool. He suspected the other medicine cats had had similar experiences, based on the troubled look he had observed on all their faces recently. He had been begging for guidance in the last moons. All the clans had been shrinking. The majority of kits had been stillborn since newleaf. Few clans had apprentices, and the she-cats had all become reluctant to even try having kits, for fear they too would be lost.

Sunpelt stood to touch noses with the she-cat out of respect, but after that there was a flash of anger in his eyes. "Why has no one come to us?" He meowed loudly, but didn't snarl. He was sure StarClan had a good reason, and anger was no reason to show disrespect to any cat, let alone one from StarClan.

Dawnfall looked at the ground for the moment, then glanced at the other she-cat who was sleeping in the medicine den. Just the day before she had lost her kits in birth, and she couldn't have been more miserable. She had refused to eat the parsley that would stop her milk. She had refused to eat anything, actually. The poor tabby would die if she didn't recover soon.

"Walk with me," Dawnfall murmured, leading Sunpelt out of his den and into the clearing. It was early morning, early enough that the sun was not yet out. The she-cat walked briskly, towards the stream on the western side of the camp. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, and she left no footprints behind her.

When they got to the edge of the stream, they met two other cats already waiting. Emberstar, the clan leader, and Stormfall, the huge deputy. Both had been talking and obviously awaiting the arrival of Sunpelt and the StarClan medicine cat. Neither cat knew why they had been brought out here, and had similar tired facial expressions to Sunpelt's.

They had no time to greet each other before Dawnfall walked into the stream, looking behind her and signaling the other cats to cross. The three glanced at each other before heading in after her, following further into their territory, heading toward ShadowClan's borders. "What are you bringing us out here in the middle of the night for?" Stormfall asked, impatient as always. The StarClan cat didn't even glance backward. Stormfall looked at Emberstar, who shrugged.

The pale moon danced on the pelts of the four cats, and their sparkling shadows moved beautifully across the snow. It was almost totally silent but for their footsteps at this time, with most prey hiding in their underground burrows in the cold of night. Sunpelt was thankful that RiverClan fished, as it usually left them more well-fed than the other clans during leaf-bare. They were stronger, and there wasn't nearly as much sickness.

Dawnfall came to an abrupt halt when they neared the small greenleaf thunderpath. Turning to the three cats behind her, she finally spoke. "Over the next many seasons, your clan will see much change brought about by three cats. The first will bring great destruction of all you find to be righteous. The second cat will find a way to bring about healing after a great struggle. The third will bring great leadership and cause RiverClan to rise back up from the ashes, again making it strong as it is now." With that, the pale starry medicine cat faded, leaving her three companions bewildered and rooted in place.

"That," Emberstar meowed shakily, "was probably the worst worded prophecy I have ever heard." All three gave nervous mrrows of laughter. Badly worded or not, it meant the clan was going to go very wrong, and that had the three cats very scared. They were visibly shaken. The already silent night became even more silent as the cats turned to walk back towards the camp.

That's when they heard it. The unmistakable sound of a monster. The cats stopped and looked back towards the thunderpath. Twolegs never came here except during greenleaf. As they watched, the monster stopped for a small moment as a twoleg hurtled a pink squirming bundle from the side of it, Small mews of distress soon followed.

Sunpelt began running towards the bundle with Emberstar close behind. Stormfall, however, stayed where she was. "Is it wise to risk our lives for kittypet kits?" she yowled after them. "The twolegs could be coming back. It could be a trap!" All of them had been told legends of how long ago, in a forgotten territory, twolegs had gone around capturing clan cats, taking some far away.

The medicine cat and leader ignored Stormfall's warning. Arriving at the tangled pink ball, they became a bit confused. "How do you open it?" Emberstar muttered, tilting her head. She could hear the kits calling for their mother inside.

"You have to grab the open flap and unroll it," a tiny voice mewed.

Sunpelt and Emberstar glanced at each other, By now Stormfall had joined them, though she was still a good distance away. Sunpelt sniffed at the bundle, eventually finding a crease. He grabbed on with his teeth, careful to not catch any kit tails with it. He pulled up and out, finally releasing three young kits.

"It's cold!" the black tom wailed, huddling back into the pink thing that now laid mostly flat along the snow. The white she-cat bristled at the sight of the three much older cats and joined the huddle with her brothers, not saying anything but obviously scared. The grey tom sat in the center of his two sibling, and his eyes were curious.

"What are your names, kits?" Sunpelt asked gently, not wanting to scare them any further. The last thing they needed was for the kits to scatter. They would spend all night searching. His old bones were starting to ache enough in this cold.

Finally, they grey tom was the one who spoke. "I'm Grey," he mewed, "and this is White and Black." He pointed to the she-cat and the other tom. Emberstar and Sunpelt recognized his voice as the one that had told them how to open the bundle.

"Do you know where our mother is?" White asked softly, allowing her soft kit fur to lay more flat.

"Yeah, our housefolk took us away from her," Black chipped in next. "We've been stuck in that loud, stinky thing all alone for a long time." He shivered, having stood up a little when he spoke, and then huddled back into the protective warmth of the bundle.

The three older cats looked at each other. What odd names for kittypets, Sunpelt thought. It was normal for clan queens to name their kits in that way, but twolegs had strange names. He couldn't help but wonder why three kits no older than two moons had been thrown from a monster without their mother. Didn't their twoleg know the kits would die? If not from cold, they would certainly be snatched by a racoon or owl.

"We can't leave them here," Sunpelt finally said. "Without their mother they will die, and in this cold it would probably happen before the sun rises."

"They're kittypets!" Stormfall spat. "RiverClan has no need for their soft paws."

"You would leave kits in the cold of leaf-bare, Stormfall?" Emberstar asked dangerously. The she-cat had only become leader last leaf-fall, and before she was deputy she was among the first mothers to lose a litter.

"Enough of this arguing." Sunpelt growled. "The Warrior Code clearly states that you cannot neglect kits in danger, no matter where they come from. We haven't had kits born into RiverClan for nearly four seasons. All of you, come pick up a kit. Lets get them back to camp."

With one more growl about kittypets, Stormfall picked up the white she-kit and started to walk back toward camp. Sunpelt picked up Grey, and Emberstar picked up Black.

When they arrived back at camp, it was just as quiet as they left it. Light snow had begun to fall, already covering up the footprints that had been left just an hour before. The cats padded towards the medicine den with the very cold, very wet kits still in their jaws. The black one had squealed loudly when the water touched him, but apparently not loud enough to wake their clanmates.

Sunpelt went immediately to Frogfur, who still slept in her nest. He gently prodded her side. "Frogfur," he murmured into her ear. The she-cat stirred, looking up bleary-eyed from her nest.

"What? What is it? Is something wrong?" Frogfur exclaimed, staggering onto her paws. She saw the three kits, now again huddled together, and her eyes narrowed. "What is this?" she growled, noticing the scent of kittypet.

"The kits have lost their mother, Frogfur," Emberstar replied gently. "You are still producing milk. Without someone to care for them, these kits will die."

Frogfur studied the kits for a few moments more, and her gaze softened. She padded over to the kits and herded them back to her nest with her tail. They were tired, so there were no complaints as the kits laid down with the warmth and milk.

"What are their names?" Frogfur finally asked.

Emberstar smiled. "Blackkit, Whitekit, and Greykit."

Frogfur smiled back. "There are three," she purred, "just like my litter which was lost."


	2. Chapter 1

"Greykit! Greykit! We're going to be late, get up!"

Greykit groaned, rolling over in his nest and trying to block the noise. He had been up late the night before thinking about his apprentice ceremony this morning, and- Wait! The young tom jumped up, hurriedly trying to groom his fur and knocking his smaller brother backwards. Blackkit, though he had been awake earlier and was obviously very excited, had neglected his own grooming. Their sister, Whitekit, was already fully groomed and waiting by the door of the nursery, anxiously pawing the ground.

Before another word could be spoken, Frogfur rushed into the den with three fish in her mouth. "Eat, my young apprentices. Today will be tiring if you have nothing in your bellies for your first trip outside camp." The young mother immediately got to grooming Blackkit, just as anxious as the soon-to-be apprentices to get out of the nursery.

Greykit nibbled on his fish, but he was too busy thinking about what the day would bring to get much down. Would they learn to swim? Would they see the whole territory? Would they learn real warrior fighting moves and hunting tactics and would they see cats from another clan and- Oh yeah. He was supposed to be eating this fish or he would be too tired and hungry to do any of those things.

He finished the rest of his prey in just a couple of gulps as his brother voiced to his mother the same things Greykit had just thought of, except the part about eating the fish. The grey tom supposed most kits asked the same questions to their mothers on the morning of their apprentice ceremony. After all, the only day that could possibly be as exciting as this was a warrior ceremony, and that didn't have nearly as many new things involved. That made the apprentice ceremony more exciting, then, he guessed.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highrock for a clan meeting!" Emberstar yowled from the center of camp. Greykit and Whitekit had just finished their fish, but Blackkit hadn't even finished being groomed yet when they all rushed out of the den towards Emberstar.

Blackkit reached the foot of the Highrock first, with Greykit and Whitekit close behind. They took a seat and genuinely tried to sit still, but it was like they had all consumed jumping beans rather than fish before coming to their ceremony. The whole clan buzzed with excitement.

"Finally, someone else to take care of Stoneclaw's ticks," Brownfur, the youngest warrior, whispered to his sister Mirrorclaw, who let out a small mrrow of laughter in response. Greykit hadn't yet thought of that unpleasant duty, but he didn't think he would have to deal with that today. Would he?

Emberstar raised her tail, and after a few more moments the clan quieted and awaited her speech. "Cats of RiverClan," she began, "today we have a ceremony which we have not performed in a long while. There are three young cats here who have reached the appropriate age to become apprenticed. They were not born to RiverClan by blood, but today they will take the first step to becoming true warriors, just as good and loyal as any other cat."

With this, a few cats, including Stormfall, the deputy, looked down. Though they had been raised as clan cats for their last four moons, certain others still doubted their abilities. Words that Greykit would hear whispered sometimes stung him badly, but in the end it only made him want to prove himself more. So what if his real mother had been a kittypet? She had left he and his siblings, and Frogfur was their mother now. RiverClan was their family. No words Stormfall or any other cat spoke would change that.

Emberstar had paused in her ceremony, and she looked upset for a moment when she noticed some of the glances between her warriors. "Blackkit," she continued loudly, bringing the attention back to what was going on, "you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Blackpaw. Your mentor will be myself. I hope to pass down all I know on to you."

Greykit's brother jumped in surprise when he was informed that his mentor would be the clan leader. Certainly no one in the clan had expected that. Frogfur sat only a few feet away, and she absolutely beamed at Blackpaw.

Wasting no time, Emberstar moved on with the ceremony. "Greykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed as well. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Greypaw. Your mentor will be Mirrorclaw. She had received excellent training from Rockpelt, and has shown herself to be loyal and a smart hunter and fighter. I hope she will pass all she knows on to you."

Greypaw found himself almost as bouncy as his brother when he walked as swiftly as he could to touch noses with his new mentor. He knew the young she-cat's brother had some doubts, but she didn't seem to share in them. All in all she seemed to be a nice cat, and Greypaw was proud to have her as his mentor for as long as it was needed. "I will make you an excellent warrior, Greypaw. Don't listen to what some of your clanmates or other clans may say." she murmured in his ear when he got close enough. He looked at her in surprise. He didn't think anyone knew he had been listening. He chastised himself for not being better at hiding, but he supposed it was good to know his mentor was on his side.

Emberstar looked as though she was about to speak again, but Sunpelt interrupted. "Excuse me, Emberstar." the medicine cat meowed, dipping his head apologetically. "I know I probably should have mentioned this before, but Whitekit has expressed interest in becoming our next medicine cat. I am already a very old cat, and you will need someone to be here when I'm gone."

Emberstar studied him, then looked back at Whitekit. "Do you accept the post of apprentice to Sunpelt?"

"I do." the little cat mewed calmly in a tiny voice.

"Then at the half-moon, you must travel to the Moonpool to be accepted by StarClan before the other medicine cats." Sunpelt purred, walking over and touching noses.

"From this day forward, you will be known as Whitepaw." Emberstar said as she jumped down from the Highrock. "The good wishes of all RiverClan will go with you."

The black and orange leader finally walked over and touched noses with Blackpaw, and the clan dispersed, going back to whatever duties they had been performing. All three apprentices were finally able to let a little of their excitement loose.

"Are we gonna learn how to hunt and fight battles against the other clans?" Blackpaw asked, jumping up and down and practically running circles around the other cats.

"No, young one." Emberstar purred. "Today we are just going to take a tour of our territory, and I think that will be quite enough to tire you out for now."

Blackpaw and Greypaw both tried hard to conceal their disappointment, though both failed pretty miserably at it.

"Oh, come now." Sunpelt laughed. "How does one expect to learn to hunt and battle when they don't even know what their own territory looks like? You can't possibly know where food is when you can hardly find your way out of camp."

"Our food is fish, so it lives in the water. Duh…" Blackpaw muttered. Greypaw snickered, and Whitepaw just rolled her eyes. All three older cats rolled their eyes, as well.

"Come on, you three." Mirrorclaw said, heading toward the stepping stones. "Let's try to get this done before Moonhigh."


	3. Chapter 2

Whitepaw watched in amusement as Blackpaw tried hard not to drown himself crossing the stream. Greypaw had already crossed and was sitting looking waterlogged but proud next to their three mentors. Blackpaw's fur was longer, and it was easy to tell it weighed him down. Not to mention it was only early newleaf, which meant the water was still freezing.

"Move your front paws in larger strokes," Emberstar advised from the bank. "All this paddling with your long fur will make you a very strong but very tired warrior." The entire audience, Whitepaw included, laughed at that.

She hadn't yet crossed the stream. Their mentors wanted them all to go one at a time so they could watch who went before and see what and what not to do. The three older cats had crossed together, and Greypaw had followed fearlessly almost immediately. Of course he had jumped in rather than walked, so he went under the water and was carried a ways downstream before he even surfaced. Why did that stupid furball always have to go around trying to prove himself?

Finally, it was Whitepaw's turn to cross. The stream wasn't that big, only about five cat-lengths, but it was enough that she would be tired, cold and wet at the opposite bank. She tentatively put a paw in the water, but she snatched it back out again just as quick. She hadn't expected the water to be quite so cold or moving quite so fast. She looked at Sunpelt, who smiled encouragingly.

"At least if you drown, your mentor will know how to save you!" Blackpaw wheezed from the bank.

"Maybe he could save you by chopping off some of that ridiculous fur of yours!" she called back. "At least it looks somewhat groomed now, unlike at the ceremony where you hardly looked better than the mouse we shared yesterday!" Blackpaw glared at her angrily, but didn't respond. Probably because he knew it to be true, she guessed.

Taking a deep breath, Whitepaw walked into the shallow part of the creek. Unlike her brothers, she wanted to walk for as long as possible before she had to use her energy. She made it nearly halfway when she stepped unexpectedly into a dropoff and had to flail a bit to regain her balance. She churned her paws in big strokes, as Emberstar had said, and before she knew it she was scrambling onto the bank.

"Very well done, my apprentice," Sunpelt said, walking over and placing his tail across her shoulders. "You looked much more like a cat than a drowning fish, unlike your brothers." Sunpelt winked, and the she-cat couldn't help but smile when she received a glare from both of them.

"Thank you, Sunpelt." she mewed cheerily, sitting down and awaiting the next instruction.

"So where are we going next?" Blackpaw asked, jumping up and somehow gaining all the energy he needed in two seconds flat.

"The lake." Mirrorclaw meowed. "There aren't many trees in RiverClan territory. Only by the streams. That means the only things you really need to find are the territory's borders, since everything can basically be seen from one place by just standing on a hill and looking around. You'll know the borders by the ShadowClan and WindClan stench when we get there, believe me."

Blackpaw and Greypaw trotted off toward the lake, following their mentors, but Sunpelt held Whitepaw back. "Wait." he meowed. "Come here for a moment."

Whitepaw followed him to a patch of yellow flowers by the stream. "Do you know what these are?" he asked her.

She bent close to the flowers and sniffed. She didn't. "No, Sunpelt, I can't place it. Sorry."

The old medicine cat let out a mrrow of laughter. "Don't be sorry, young one. It's your first day." he said, his eyes twinkling a bit. "This is marigold. It grows near water and is a very important herb. It can stop infection and bleeding, and it also helps the inflammation of stiff joints. Remember the scent, because I will ask you to fetch some from my stores to give to Stoneclaw when we return to camp."

"Okay Sunpelt." she mewed, trying her best to imprint the scent of the marigold in her mind. Her first duty as a medicine cat apprentice! This was even more exciting than her apprentice ceremony had been. By now she was bouncing almost as high as her brothers, and she and Sunpelt ran to catch up to them.

"Where were you?" Greypaw asked, studying his sister with interest.

"I found marigold!" she exclaimed proudly.

"Exciting?" her brother asked quizzically, tilting his head. Obviously he was not as energized by the idea of helping cats heal as she was. Finding her first herb would be like him catching his first fish. Two totally different things, but equally important to the health of RiverClan. Whitepaw bumped shoulders with him playfully.

"There's the lake! I see it!" Blackpaw exclaimed from the front of the group, jumping up and running toward it. Greypaw also took off, and by now Whitepaw was excited enough that she also ran after her brothers. However, she also took notice of all the plants just beginning to grow again after leafbare. She wondered how many of them would be useful for healing and what they all were called.

"What do you smell?" Emberstar asked, coming to stand behind the apprentices. Greypaw parted his jaws first.

"It smells faintly of other cats here." he meowed. "Why are there other clan smells on RiverClan territory? And what's that island in the middle of the lake?"

It was Sunpelt who answered. "That island is where Gatherings are held. There are other clan scents here because that fallen log is the only way for non-swimmers to reach the island. Long ago, when the clans first came to the lake, a rule was established that the area two cat-lengths from the lake is not the territory of any clan, and you may pass along it as you please."

"But that isn't recommended." Emberstar chimed in. "Though we are technically able to pass along it, other clans will be suspicious if they catch you wandering around on their side of the boundary. Since the log to reach the Gathering is in our part of the territory, as RiverClan cats we rarely have reason to travel around the lake."

The six of them then moved on to a little bridge to the west. "What are those twolegs doing?" Blackpaw asked curiously, flattening himself under a bush to stay hidden. Whitepaw did the same and looked. There was a huge monster, and stuff was falling out of it into the lake.

"It smells yucky." Greypaw added, wrinkling his nose.

"I don't know what they're doing," Emberstar murmured. "Twolegs aren't normally here until greenleaf, and they come on swimming monsters that scare the fish."

The cats crouched and watched until the twolegs closed the monster and it ran away. After waiting a few more moments, they ventured to the halfbridge and looked down into the water. Instead of the crystal clear the water normally was here, a foul-smelling green sludge floated around. The cats could see dead and dying fish popping to the surface wherever the sludge touched.

"The twolegs are poisoning the lake," Sunpelt murmured in anger. "This could be why the clans have had trouble bearing kits. The sludge kills what drinks it directly, but when expecting queens drink the water it harms what's inside."

"Are you sure, Sunpelt?" Emberstar asked in alarm.

"No, there is no way to be sure," Sunpelt said slowly after a small pause, "but it's a better idea than any we've had so far. Drinking this water may not be safe."

"Then we must tell the clan immediately." Emberstar meowed, turning back toward the camp. "Any more exploring will have to wait until tomorrow, apprentices. Get something to eat, and rest well tonight."


End file.
